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A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the first trial.